Leyton Orient CEO Mark Devlin responds to a report of complaints from a group of residents over loud noise coming from the stadium.
The League One club, according to the reports, are facing a licensing hearing after more than 20 residents saying they were being “kept awake” and “cannot enjoy peaceful evenings.” Orient are licensed to play music at Brisbane Road until 1.30am.
22 complaints have been lodged with Waltham Forest Council’s licensing team by those living nearby, while 2 people have requested that Waltham Forest Council should review its licence and a hearing has been arranged for Tuesday the 26th of November.
According to documents which were submitted to the council, residents have tried getting in contact with those at the stadium since 2021, requesting them to close their windows and for music to be turned down.
London Evening Standard adds that 38 events were held in 2022, and between January and August this year they held 67 events, so around 8 events a month.
Jonathan and Mette Barker, who requested the review, said to the council: “We accept, and always have, that we live by a football stadium and therefore will have noise related to that – Orient games and pitch upkeep such as regular lawn-mowing.
“However, since 2021, we have endured overwhelming noise pollution as the club has significantly increased noisy activities in several areas.
“During the four months at the end of the season [January through April], the noise is so extreme it makes our homes almost unbearable to live in.
“We do not think it is reasonable for a neighbour, whether [it is] a business or not, to be allowed to cause such disturbance to hundreds of surrounding residents.”
Another resident added that music had been so loud that they could hear the lyrics to the songs playing out, even when having their windows closed, saying it is “at such a level that it makes it difficult to even hear our TV in our living room during the evenings”.
He also claimed there was an “explosion of noise” from pitch hires, including children’s games and charity matches, adding: “We obviously wouldn’t want this to stop in its entirety, but how can it be justified that residents should have to live through this explosion of activity/noise at the end of every single season, and for such a sustained period?”
The council’s air quality and environmental protection service have visited the stadium three times, in December 2023 and May 2024, saying the noise level constituted “statutory nuisance”.
But neighbours are still unhappy, now wanting the club’s licence for regulated entertainment looked at or for a list of conditions to be put in place, including…
– wanting hours being reduced to 9pm on weekdays and 10pm on weekends, wanting there to be just one event per month.
– wanting the club to agree to keep all doors and windows closed whenever music is being played or when any other noise is made “which would be audible outside the club’s premises”.
The council’s air quality team say that the stadium’s music players should be controlled by a noise limiter, which can cut off power to the equipment if it goes beyond a certain threshold.
Responding to the now deleted report from Waltham Forest Echo, in which they state that Leyton Orient was contacted for comment, the club’s Chief Executive, Mark Devlin, says in a tweet: “The club will save its response for when we go before the licencing committee. Save to say, despite the assertion, the club has not been asked for a response.”
The club will save its response for when we go before the licencing committee. Save to say, despite the assertion, the club has not been asked for a response.
— mark devlin (@markdevlin7) November 19, 2024
Here’s how Twitter users reacted as the Leyton Orient CEO responds to a report of residents’ complaints over loud noise from the stadium..
@martyj21: The ground has been there for nearly 80 years, you’d think that local residents are used to it by now. And people who buy near a football ground should expect occasional noise.
@OSGMiddleton: These are the same kind of people who choose to live next to bars and nightclubs and then moan about noise. Brisbane Road has been home to Leyton Orient for nearly 100 years. If you don’t like it, London is a big city.
@KerenOrient: Wow! Live near a venue and complain about noise 😯
@terryrees3: They knew the ground was there when the purchased the house
@darin_burrows: Tell them to move.
@_jackburrows_: Don’t buy a gaff near a football ground then complain.
@davem1812: @leytonorientfc can you please keep Theo Archibald away from the Karaoke machine. 😁
@antiquemouse: Didn’t they notice that huge football stadium when they viewed their properties ?Turn up the volume and tell them to fuck off and stop whining.
@jaah_98: Locals? Locals know the football club has been there for decades and is part of the community and would not make such ridiculous complaints. These aren’t locals they are new yuppies who have moved to the area with a stinking sense of entitlement. They can piss orf out of it, mugs
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